Impulse
by Loony Kit - ZenyattaDoll
Summary: Thor doesn't know where he is or how he got there, but the one thing he does know is he is not alone.
1. Prologue

A/N: This story wasn't meant to be an alternate time line but with the new Thor sequel coming out soon, and my impatience for knowing what happens, it's obvious that my ideas of what happened after the Avengers movie are wrong, but I do my best to keep things honest to the cannon. Also, many thanks to my brightly colored fighting fish, The March Hater.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the copyright or licensing. Done for personal amusement, no monetary gain was made.

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Impulse

Thor received a nasty shock when he arrived back in Asgard with his wayward brother. He should have suspected something; Loki had never been quite so compliant. As the remnants of the rainbow bridge materialized under their feet Thor could see the Warriors Three and Lady Sif approaching off in the distance. They had come to help escort the 'prisoner.' Thor waved for them to halt their approach some distance away. He wanted to give Loki one last chance to explain himself. Thor wanted one last chance for to find even the tiniest sliver of hope for his brother.

He thought he had prepared himself for whatever harsh words his brother could dish out. However, when Thor removed the restrictive mask from Loki's face, his brother didn't say a word. He merely gazed at Thor for a moment before his mouth curled in to a smile. He looked as though he would burst into laughter, but no sound ever came. Loki's outline started to twitch. Thor grabbed Loki's shoulders in an attempt to support his brother, thinking he'd started descending into some kind of strange mute hysterics. Loki's shoulders held the weight of Thor's hands, but the being beneath them shook and flickered. Realization flooded through Thor as he retreated from the now unstable form. One of the cuffs and chain that bound 'his brother's' hands slipped through his wrist and land with a clatter. With one last great shudder Loki's double faded out of existence, a look of silent, deranged, laughter still on its face.

The only sound that met Thor's ears was the sound of his friends' footsteps as they ran to his side. Stunned couldn't even begin to describe Thor's despair. Sif stepped forward to retrieve the binding from the ground. Thor took it, staring, sudden frustration the likes of which he had never felt before boiled up violently inside him and remained so until he arrived back in New York to relay the news that Loki was still at large. Thor was sure Stark had thought that his world was once again under attack when he landed on his balcony to relay the news of Loki's escape. Even though Captain Rogers and Dr. Banner were out of immediate contact and Clint & Natasha had been sent cross country to a SHEILD rehabilitation facility for some 'down time' Fury wasn't waiting around to pour any available division into picking up Loki's scent. This fight was far from over.


	2. Aid

The light that shined just behind Thor's eyelids stung, and every little sound that passed by his ears echoed; not in his surroundings but in his own head. His brain throbbed and his side burned with fresh pain. Lying on the stone cold ground, Thor tried to regain control over his senses. He wasn't positive where he was, but he got the impression that he was in some kind of rocky hollow. The ground was uneven and dirt-less. There was, however, a good deal of light, which led him to believe that he was still above ground. Thor could sense another's presence a little ways away, but something about the person's distance told him it was not any of his newly gained allies. He kept his breathing low, as to not attract the attention of his unknown companion; whether they could be trusted was yet to be seen. Thor searched his recent memories for any clue to his predicament.

The last thing Thor could remember clearly; he, Stark, Natasha, Barton and The Captain were tracking down a lead they had been sent after by S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor couldn't recall the name of the thing they had been sent after (a small stick no bigger than your thumb that could hold an entire library, Banner had explained), but what he did know that it was important and they needed to get it back as quickly as possible. Perhaps, that was why they had stumbled so readily into a trap they should have been able to see coming. The strange occurrences that had recently started cropping up were so disconnected that it seemed unlikely to have been done by the same person, but the frequency and intensity at which they happened made them seem linked. If this was a new enemy, they had yet to make a mistake. So, they knew next to nothing about what they were up against. The superiors at S.H.I.E.L.D. had assumed the new threat was just an old friend in new clothing.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had diverted every available, and some previously occupied, resource out looking for Loki. They even went so far as to set up a division specifically devoted to scrounging up any leads that might point to his whereabouts. They thought the new occurrences were his doing. However, Tony loudly and rightly in Thor's opinion, stomped on the idea that the escaped trickster was the one responsible. In all truth Loki was far too tired and, well … defeated to be causing any more trouble so soon after his attempt on Earth. He was also, as far as they could tell, still hobbled by one of the cuffs that Stark and Banner had managed to throw together after New York.

The decoy Loki had sent in his place had only the one restraint, so it stood to reason that he must not have been able to get the other off. He was probably able to conceal himself, but it was unlikely that Loki would have been able to mount an effective offense with such a large portion of his magic bound. Indeed, the head of the uncreatively named (by Stark's measure) Loki Division thought that the cuff could actually be helping him hide based on the fact that it restricted his magic to the point that it could be masking any kind of signal his abilities would send off, if he were to use them.

So with the heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. refusing to be convinced that this was a wholly different threat than Loki, and with Stark and Banner defending the effectiveness of their bindings, nobody was too sure of what was actually going on. So trudge on blindly they did, not really knowing who, how or why. And as they really should have expected, operating off of the knowledge that this little bit of technology they were looking for was inexplicably located on an uninhabited edge of the Rockies, they were ambushed by creatures Thor nor any of the others had ever seen before. Truth be told, this mattered little to Thor. He could always handle himself in a good battle. That is, until the beasts got the upper hand. The last thing he could remember of the altercation was taking out two opposing combatants with one swing of Mjölnir. Next, without warning, a piercing, gut wrenching, pain ripped through his left side. After that, Thor could only recall collapsing to his knees grasping at his side in an visceral attempt to hold himself together, but the blood gushing through and around his fingers unhindered. There was suddenly a bright flash of disorienting light coupled with a strange airlessness and an unexpected yank strong enough to lift him off the ground, on the back of his collar. Then, darkness.

Thor realized now that this must have been his faceless companion removing him from the fight. But why? Was it their intention to rescue him or were they simply retaining him for future use? Thor's ears strained for any possible sound he could make out, a small rustling of clothing or heavy breath. Who was this person? Was it even a person? He knew he was in no fit state to put up a proper fight should the other decided that they would prefer him dead. Thor knew he couldn't lie here forever, but he wasn't exactly over eager to move either.

Thor's ears picked up on a sudden sound of movement, a pair of soles sliding briefly on stone; then soft footsteps coming towards him. Thor's breath caught inside his chest as the person's approached. He tried to stay as still as possible. Whoever it was knelt down at Thor's chest and he felt a cool hand gently graze his throat. The hand pressed purposefully on the crook of his neck, no doubt to check the status of his heartbeat. The stranger shifted to bring their head closer to Thor's while still crouching next to him, listening to his breathing with their fingers still keeping track of his pulse. They were so close that Thor could take in their scent; reminiscent of the smell of outside after a winter's storm. It was a strangely reminiscent smell. Suddenly, the stranger pulled away.

"Thor, stop feigning, you always were a terrible liar." An extremely familiar voice drawled. Thor's felt as if his heart had jumped into his throat. His eyes snapped open and they flashed up towards the voice. He was met with a pair of familiar green eyes.

"Loki!" Thor choked out "Where did you…"

"Well, I was in the vicinity and noticed that you were dying, again, so I decided to intervene. Quite a nasty hole in your side." Loki commented off-handedly, as he casually tilted his head to rest it on the knuckles of his right hand as he crouched next to his fellow prince. Thor glanced down to see that most of his armor had been pulled away and in its place was thick set of bandages that neatly wound their way up his mid-section. When Thor looked back up, he couldn't find anything to say, or perhaps it was that he had too much to ask. He defaulted to taking in his brother's appearance.

He wished he could say that Loki looked healthier than the last time he'd seen him, he was still visibly thinner and his face looked as pale as it ever did. He did, however, seem saner. His demeanor was calm now, almost indifferent. Whatever internal turmoil he had been going through these last two years seemed to have dissipated; or at the very least he had put to the back of his mind. His clothing had also changed, not in style but function. The last two times they had come face-to-face, Loki had come tactically prepared in garments that could withstand an altercation. Here, however, he wore no armor, leather, or thick material. The soft fabrics he was adorned in now made it clear he had no intentions of seeking a fight. Still, that didn't make Thor feel very safe, especially in his current state.

Staring up into his brother's face, Thor blinked to try to keep his vision from swimming. Finally un-sticking his throat, he asked the most pressing question on his mind.

"Where are we?"

"We are about 10 kilometers west of your last combat site."

Thor craned his neck, finally able to take in everything around him. If he looked directly in front of him as he lay on his side, he could see all the way to the back of the shallow alcove they were currently hidden. Looking over his shoulder, he could see nothing but the edge of an overhang and a wide streak of sky. Thor turned his attention back to his brother.

"Why?"

"There are many whys, you are going to have to be far more specific." Loki said dully.

"What possessed you to attempt to destroy Midgard?" Loki stiffed at this.

"I seem to remember in our last extended conversation, that you referred to my concerns as 'imagined slights'; so forgive me for not believing that you're genuinely interested in any of the things that motivate me. Also destroy and conquer are two very different things, please try not to confuse them." Loki answered as he returned to his feet. He calmly backed towards a large, flat topped, rock he had taken to perching upon as he spoke. It was situated near the edge of the overhang, tucked far enough inside the alcove to keep him out of the sight of anyone who might be looking up from below.

"Loki, please, why did you attack Midgard?" It seemed as though Loki hadn't heard him; but after a long moment he sighed, but didn't turn to look at Thor.

"I honestly don't have an answer to that question . . . it seemed like a reasonable venture at the time."

"You thought . . ."

"It was an impulse," Loki said abruptly, cutting Thor off "you'd be surprised how easy decisions are when you don't stop ponder them."

"Don't Loki, the truth!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Loki turned sharply, finally confronting Thor.

"Do you at least regret it?" Loki's eyes narrowed at Thor's words, and a now familiar viciousness flooded back into his expression.

"No." Loki half growled in a low, dark, voice. One that made Thor's blood freeze in his veins.

A heavy silence settled around them. Apparently Loki was still walking a fine line. It was clear he did not want to re-visit the events of his last appearance. Thor decided to drop it for now. As persuasive and eloquent as Loki was, he could also clam up tighter than a steel trap if the mood struck him, and Thor wanted to keep his brother talking. As Thor groped around for a change of subject, the pain just under his ribs piped up almost on cue.

"How badly am I injured? You said I was dying. Is that true, or was it merely a jest?"

"You might have lived if left be, but I doubt those things would have allowed you to survive. I stabilized your wound, but I couldn't close it completely –thanks to your friend Stark." Loki said casually as he held up his right hand and allowed his sleeve to slip down, showing that his wrist was still clad in one of the Metal Man's restraints. So, Stark had been right, the cuff was still able to block some of his magic despite not being intact. Loki propped his elbow up on his knee and rested his temple on his knuckles again as he casually considered the binding while Thor looked on. It was covered in numerous scratches, dings and dents; Loki's attempts at removing it no doubt. Thor would have to remember to congratulate Stark on making a binding that could withstand Loki's ravages and still manage to function, at least on some level.

After another long, but considerably less tense pause, Thor allowed himself to relax, gingerly shifting on to his back. Loki didn't appear to have any ill intent, and even if he did there was nothing Thor could do about it at the moment. The best course of action at present seemed to be to stay calm and to try to keep Loki doing the same. But after about ten minutes of dead silence Thor could help but to voice his thoughts.

"It may sound foolish but even after all that has happened brother, your presence is still, somehow, a comfort to me. This feels like just another battle, we'll get through it like we always have. Maybe a bit battered, but together in the end."

"You're right." Thor's head snapped up at these words to meet his brother's gaze, but instead of the optimism he had hoped to find there, he was met with a cold dead stare. "That does sound foolish."

"When was it?"

"When was what?"

"When did I push you past the point of no return?" Loki raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this, but Thor continued. "To the point that you would betray me, lie to your family?" Loki rolled his eyes and took an exasperated breath at the mountain of irony, as he turned to stare back out the mouth of the cave.

"Why would I bother trying to explain anything you? After all you can barely see past the bridge of your own nose. If you haven't seen it or felt it, ne'er does it exist."

"Can you not remember life before you learned of the truth? What difference does your ancestry truly make?"

"Can I remember?" Loki echoed derisively "I can remember having to pull you out of every blunder you could have possibly gotten yourself into." Loki voice started to gradually grow louder, filling with resentment, as he unconsciously rose from his seat. "Constantly having to save your skin, and yet all the mistakes you made always managed to be lost on the trip home; the wondrous, infallible first son of Asgard returns home with another victory. In reality you would have died a hundred times over if it wasn't for me! Endless glory, and all because you were an idiot that always leaped before you looked. But what was the reward for me, the second son? You belittle me by referring to my abilities as 'tricks' and . . ." Loki took a steadying breath and straightened up his posture, having finally noticed he leaned in towards Thor with every word that passed his lips ". . . and being ignored by 'father.' That is what I remember and the difference, my dear Thor, is that even that stiflingly unpleasant existence was nothing but a lie."

"Loki, stop running." Thor did his best to not sound desperate "Come home and…"

"And what?" Loki said with an, almost, genuine laugh. He plopped back down on his rock, bringing his legs back up so he could rest his forearms on his knees.

"Return to Asgard" Loki said with false wistfulness "to spend my years locked away as the Allfather's biggest disappointment? No. There is no fixing this." Loki said, opening his arms as if to present himself, his eyes bleak.

"Is living on the run for the rest of your days any better?" Thor nearly pleaded.

"If it means that I have even the slightest bit of control over my own fate, then yes." Loki responded quietly.

"I thought freedom was nothing but a lie?" Thor retorted with a scowl.

"It is! Control and freedom are not the same. No one is free, we are all bound by what we are, and…" Loki swallowed "…and none of us can escape it." Loki looked down at what Thor assumed was the cuff on his right wrist.

Another extended bout of silence descended around them as Thor thought about Loki's words.

"Do you not miss anything of home?" Thor asked earnestly in the kindest voice he could manage. Loki paused for a long while in thought.

"I miss Léttfeti . . ."

"You miss your horse?" Thor questioned a little skeptically.

"...walking everywhere is dreadfully tedious." Loki informed, somewhat woefully, as he stared at anywhere that wasn't Thor. His chin rested on the heel of his hand now. Thor burst out in an unexpected snort of laugher, but just as quickly gasped and clutched at his injured side as he curled into himself, back onto his side, to escape the pain. Loki's chin slipped off his hand as he turned to Thor with a scowl, arm falling limply over his knee.

"May I ask what's so amusing?" Loki drawled as he searched Thor's face for an explanation.

"You're such a prince, Loki." Thor chortled as the pain subsided. Loki, however, looked ruffled at the jab.

"I was raised as a royal my whole life. How would you have me act?" he countered grumpily.

"Isn't it odd how you accept that being raised by our parents makes you who you are, and yet you have rejected us as your family?"

This was a goad too far for Loki. He stood from his rock. With impressive swiftness, he crossed the short distance between him and Thor, his knee length coat flaring out behind him as he went. As Loki reached Thor he gave his brother's hip a hard kick with his heel, causing him to roll from his side back on to his back again. Loki had avoided his wound, but this still caused a sharp pain to course up Thor's left side. He winced for a second time as Loki now towered over him.

"I warn you now, Thor, when you test my patience you also try my mercy, which, if you haven't noticed, you are currently at, so I suggested you keep your thoughts to yourself." Loki's deadly calm was matched by Thor's determined stare.

"You intervened on my behalf and yet you stand here now, threatening me with harm; why aid me in the first place?" Thor inquired definitely. Loki sighed as his boiling anger dissipated just as suddenly as it had flared, his expression dissolved into a weary look. He bowed his head in order to rub at his temples.

"An impulse, I suppose." He finally said, dropping his hands down to cross them over his chest guardedly.

"You are so strange Loki."

"So you've mentioned, constantly." Loki said in a clipped voice. Thor cautiously rubbed his side to soothe the new wave of pain. Loki could see fresh blood starting to blossom under Thor's bandages. Sighing, with a touch of defeat, Loki knelt down. With remarkable strength for his less than healthy state, he pulled Thor back onto his side. "Don't lie on your back." Loki scolded, "Blood will rush to the wound. You'll bleed out before you'll ever have strength enough to stand."

Thor wanted to point out that it was Loki's fault he was bleeding in the first place, but Thor knew that would be pushing his luck for sure. For now, he was just happy that Loki's mood swings had come back around. Loki placed a surprisingly gentle hand over Thor's side. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"Loki?" Thor attempted to lift his head to see what Loki was doing.

"Shh!"

"What are doing?"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Loki repeated but this time, the sound was accompanied by a sharp snap of Loki's fingers in Thor's face and a poke to his cheek to get him to lay his head back down. Thor was a bit incensed at being treated like just another one of Loki's hounds, but once again he held his tongue; although he was sure his displeasure was showing on his face. "I told you this ridiculous restraint is limiting. I need to concentrate much more than I normally would. Do you yourself a favor, just lie still and be silent." Loki took another breath and his face settled back into a calm, yet focused, expression. After a moment or two, a familiar warmth started to radiate slowly from Loki's hand. It seeped through the bandages and infused Thor's wound almost down to the bone. It stopped just short of that of course, but it should, shouldn't it. Every encounter they had sense that fateful day he confronted Loki in the bifroast, was familiar but always fell short of what Thor had grown accustomed to– hollow.

All too soon the sensation stopped, which left Thor with the feeling of not being quite whole. He turned his head to look and Loki. Sensing Thor's question, Loki spoke before he could get it out. "That is as good as it is going to get right know, unless you can remove this shackle."

"You're perfectly aware of the fact that, that won't happen." Thor couldn't remove it even if he trusted Loki; he had no clue how the thing worked and if Loki couldn't get it off, Thor certainly could not.

"Then this is as fit as I can get you." Loki said as he started loosening the bandages that bound up Thor's side, rearranging them and replacing the gauze, now stained crimson with new ones he pulled from inside his coat. Thor watched as his brother worked, though Loki never spared him a glance in return. Thor wondered vaguely how Loki was so prepared to treat a wound if he had indeed just happened to have been "in the vicinity," then again Thor was even more confused about Loki as he ever had been and this strange encounter was sure to throw even more uncertainty into the mix, so Thor put it out of his mind, for now.

"How is Frigga?" Loki asked pulling Thor out of his musings. The question was so quiet that, if Thor had not seen his lips move he wouldn't have been sure he had said anything at all.

"Our mother," Thor said pointedly, "is doing well given the situation. She has been doing far better over the past year, considering that she now knows for sure that you are still alive. When you fell, she kept a brave face, but in private she was distraught. Her tears were countless, thankfully they have now dried." Thor expected a biting comment for his tone, but Loki made no acknowledgement of what Thor had just said as he carried on with his work. Thor's brother always had something to say, nervousness started to pool in the pit of Thor's stomach.

"Loki?" Thor moved to take hold of a bit of Loki's sleeve in order to get his brother's attention. The tips of Thor's fingers had barely brushed the green fabric of Loki's tunic, when Loki pulled his arm away harshly.

"Do not touch me." Loki said in a skillfully even voice, without even sparing Thor half a glance.

"You handle me without permission." Thor pointed out.

"This is a very unbalanced situation, and you don't have the leverage to be making demands. So, it's my rules or I leave you here to fend for yourself."

Thor sighed in submission, relaxing his arm to give Loki more distance and better access to his wound. Loki returned to his task.

After about five more minutes of silent work, Loki made one final tuck and he was finished. He ran his hand along the seam to check that is was flat and even.

"So, what now?" Thor said, as he tugged his arm out from underneath his body to get into a more comfortable position. Loki leaned back just a fraction to survey his work, before turning his attention to Thor's question.

"This." Loki dipped his hand into his hip pocket and withdrew, what look to Thor to be, a small square of metal. "This is a tracking device. I took it off of Stark, so you all you should need to do is turn it on and he should find you relatively quickly."

"Also..." This time Loki's hand disappeared into his inside breast pocket. Deftly held in between his index and middle fingers when it reemerged, was the memory stick.

"Where did you get that?" Thor wondered aloud as he reached up to take it, meeting no resistance.

"My diversion worked not only on the 'Avengers' but your opposition as well. I snatched it during my exit, but it's no real loss to them." Thor gave Loki a puzzled look.

"Explain."

"This USB isn't as important as the all mighty SHIELD makes it out to be, it's crucial to get back, yes, but the world was in no immediate danger by its disappearance. This thing is a key, or to be more precise a key that carriers other keys. This little bit of metal and plastic can turn the locks to quite a few bombs, but the thing is, the locks that these keys go to have, most likely, already been changed. If they had attempted to use it, nothing would have happened. However, like I said this key carrier is, in itself, a key. SHIELD still needs it back if they intend to keep destroying things; they needed you to get it back so they could update the new key codes in order to get back in to the bomb threating business."

"So… you're not the one behind the theft of this trinket?"

"No, I'm not."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You know Thor, I don't think I have been quite this truthful with you in a very long while, and besides what would I have to gain by stealing this just to give it right back."

"You could be trying to manipulate me." For the first time in what seemed like forever, Loki laughed. Not a cold harsh chuckle, or a mocking derisive lark, or an insane cackle, but an honest to all-things-holy bout of honest laughter.

"Heh! You are finally learning. Of course, your timing is a bit off."

If what his brother said was true, Thor questioned whether or not returning the device to SHIELD was such a good idea. After all, they had already once tried to destroy an entire city just to cut their losses.

"Even if you didn't originally steal it, why give this back to me? Surely you could figure out a way to use this to your own advantage."

"Destroy and concur are not the same thing." Loki reiterated.

Thor was so conflicted at that moment. On one hand he desperately wanted to believe that Loki's actions were motivated by the vestiges of loyalty he still held for his brother, but Thor knew deep down that this was a stupid and dangerous emotion to cling to, having been burned not once, but twice. Though Thor would never admit it aloud, Loki was correct. He would not escape punishment for his crimes if he were to return to Asgard. But despite all that his brother had done; Thor (much like the queen) could not bear the thought of discarding Loki. He would, in fact, spend most– if not the rest –of his life locked away, never to be trusted again.

The clutches of such sentiment did not bind his father, however. To him, treason, an unprovoked attack on Midgard, and his escape from justice, deserved the highest prescribed punishment – execution. He was a king first and a father second. Frigga on the other hand, would not be swayed by her royal duties. The fight that ensued had been the worst he had ever witnessed between his parents. The Queen understood the gravity of what Loki done, but she refused to lose him for a second time. Thor felt a relief when the Allfather had finally relented. Thor could take solace in the fact that when he captured his brother he would not be bringing him back to his death. That was how low Thor had sunk, that he no longer hoped to reach his brother with reason, but was just thankful that his brother would still exist physically.

Thor had meant what he said about the Queen's pain. During the day Thor tried to carry on, he knew his friends kept up pretenses for his benefit, but Thor could not mask his troubles as easily as they did. Plagued by his grief, Thor could not sleep. He would wonder the palace corridors looking for any slight thing to distract himself from his misery. Many a night he would wander past his parent's sitting room to see his mother sitting alone, long after his father had gone to up to bed and she had dismissed her servants. Though gracious and composed in the face of the public, here her tears followed unrestrained. For a long time Thor did not want to intrude on her sorrow, but after two months of this, he entered one night and sat down with her. Nothing was said because it didn't need to be. Then came word of Loki's presence on Earth, and all that pain of that wound came rushing back up in full force along with a strong, but shameful, feeling of relief that he was still alive; still alive but once again wreaking havoc back on Midgard. What was Thor to do?

Should he really trust what Loki said? Should he risk taking this chip back to his friends? What if this was just an elaborate trap Loki had devised? He had previously tried to kill all of them. Several times in fact. Why would he suddenly change his mind?

"Where are you off to now?" Thor said, running his thumb over USB in his hand. He was lost in thought and did not truly stop to consider what he had just asked.

"You know perfectly well, I am not going to reveal that." Loki answered more evenly than Thor had expected for such a silly and prying question.

"I only ask out of concern."

"Ah," Loki nodded with sly, mock seriousness "well, rest easy your perfect golden head, I'm alive and well."

"Alive, yes. Well, no." Thor paused to rein in the feeling of loss that threatened to overtake him. "Nothing, about any of this is well." For a brief moment, it seemed as though something inside Loki's well-constructed mental wall had faltered, but the slip was too quick for Thor to glean anything.

A sudden gust of wind ruffled their hair. Thor glanced over his shoulder and Loki looked up, out of the mouth of their stowaway. The weather had snuck up on them. A large mass of dark clouds filled half of the sky.

"Did you call that?" Loki asked after considering the dark clouds for a moment.

"Not intentionally." Loki looked back to Thor at this response.

"Despite what you have been told, the world will, on occasion, turn without your intervention Thor." Loki said soberly then cleared his throat. "Back to the point," he held out the homing chip once again "…like I said, just press the center when you wake up, and your 'Avengers' will find you– hopefully." Thor placed the memory stick down in front of his field of vision and took the little bit of metal from his brother, hoping to see what he was talking about more closely.

"They are not as inept as you seem to think."

"Indeed." Loki replied, dismissively.

"They defeated you." Thor said sending a sideways glance at Loki.

"Sheer dumb luck, I assure you."

"If that is what you wish to believe."

"I know that." Loki countered sternly. His anger was creeping back up again. Thor went back to silently turning the tracking chip over and over in his hand, examining it from every angle and committing Loki's instructions to memory. Thor finally decided that he would give the UBS drive and Loki's information to Stark; surely he could make heads or tails of the situation. Speaking of which, Thor tucked the tracking chip to the back of his palm with his pinky and ring fingers in order to pick up the memory stick. He tucked it in to the hip pocket he wasn't laying on, so as not to lose it. Then something Loki had said grabbed his attention.

"Loki, what did you mean by 'when I wake up'?" Thor asked, as he looked up to meet his brother's gaze, but what he met was Loki's poised hand. With one snap of his fingers Thor was unconscious. As his neck relaxed Thor's head slumped to the ground, face expressionless in slumber. Loki considered his brother for a moment; he reached forward and lightly flicked away the few strands of hair that fell in front of Thor's face with the back of his ring finger.

"Hm. Sentiment." Loki made to stand, but made it barely half way up when a shaped pain ripped through his chest and he nearly collapsed hands out stretched to catch himself. His breaths came in stifled gasps; his endurance it would seem had finally given out on him. Loki curled in on himself as he knelt where he fell, in an instinctual effort to guard his body from the pain. He allowed his forehead to rest on the cool stone ground, this seemed to steady his nerves. Struggling to harness his magic through the restraint was more draining than actually using the magic itself. After his breaths managed to even out he twisted his neck while his temple maintained contact with the ground to look over at his brother sleeping peacefully next to him. Irritated, Loki gave Thor's shoulder a half-hearted punch.

"Imbecile." Loki grumbled as he staggered to his feet and made his way back to his rock. He slumped to the ground with his back propped up against the bolder.

The clouds that had moved in finally opened up and a litany of a heavy rain cued up just outside of their hiding spot. Loki closed his eyes and leaned his head back to rest it on the stone behind him. He tried to calm his pulse by letting the smell of fresh, rain wash air roll over him. He needed to leave soon, but it had been so long since he had been outside for any substantial length of time, let alone been able to watch the rain. Besides, his body wasn't cooperating and if he pulled too much hard on his magic like this, it could cause irrevocable damage. He just needed thirty minutes or so, to regain enough strength to get back. Thor shifted slightly in his sleep. Loki cracked one eye to glance over at his brother.

"I'm never going to escape you, am I?" Loki asked the unconscious form as he closed his eye and shifted away from Thor. He sighed and just allowed himself to get lost in the sound of the rain. Loki had a sneaking suspicion that showing himself like this would complicate things.


End file.
